CHAPTER 8, FALL AND DEVIATION
THE HUMAN FALL
Belief that humanity fell from a primordial state of unity with God
is a doctrine of the Abrahamic faiths, and similar beliefs are also found
in the mythology of many primal religions and in the doctrines of new
religions influenced by Christianity. Among the Abrahamic faiths the
doctrine of the Fall takes varying forms. In Christianity, the sin of the
original man and woman is imputed to all humanity, and created an enduring
separation between humans and God which can only be remedied by Christ.[1]
In Islam, on the other hand, Adam's sin was his alone, and he, like all
human beings, could return to a position of acceptance by submission
(Islam) to God. But the Fall did bring into existence Satan, setting up
for all humanity a trial which only some are able to endure. In Judaism
we find a mixture of beliefs; rabbinic passages gathered in this section
which accept the biblical doctrine that the fall of Adam and Eve brought a
curse into the world are counterbalanced by other passages emphasizing
individual responsibility[2] and denying that we are culpable for the sins
of our ancestor Adam. The Evil Inclination which directs the soul to do
evil may have been induced by a fall, but then again, it may have been
created by God.[3]
The human Fall is a significant teaching only in certain
religions. It is logically necessary only for religions in which (1)
God is the only Creator, (2) the Creation was purposed to be good, and
(3) evil is regarded as real and contrary to the purpose of creation.
But these three premises are found together only in the Abrahamic faiths
and in some other theistic religions. In Zoroastrianism, where there
are two creators--God and the devil--the origin of evil does not involve
a fall. Neither is there a doctrine of a fall in Buddhism, which
lacks a doctrine of creation. Hinduism, which (in Sankhya philosophy)
regards matter to partake of evil elements, or in which creation is an
act of play (lila) and hence without moral purpose, also does not
require a doctrine of the Fall. Nevertheless, even religions like
Buddhism and Hinduism have traditions which speculate on a primordial
fall from grace in order to explain the discrepancy between the cosmos's
pure origin and its present state of suffering.
The first group of passages are derived from or related to the
story of the Fall in Genesis. The accounts of this event are full of
symbolism and open to varied interpretations. The Tempter--variously
called Satan, Lucifer, or Iblis--instigates Adam and Eve to disobey God's
command, often with the hint that the act of the fall involved sexual
misconduct. While the Bible attributes the Fall mainly to the mistake of
a woman, the Qur'an regards Adam and Eve as equally culpable. The next
group of passages are independent traditions from the primal religions,
Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shinto which give some account of the cause for
the present deviation of humanity from its pure origin. These traditions
resemble the account of the fall in the Abrahamic faiths in one or more
respects: the theme of disobedience, of eating a forbidden food, of sexual
misconduct, and the culpability of the woman. The last group of passages,
from the Eastern religions, describe a belief that this world has declined
from an original golden age of purity and godliness. God's creation was
originally pure, but with the progression of the ages the Law has
gradually fallen into disuse and human nature has degenerated.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
11 Corinthians 15.21-22, p. 547. 2Ezekiel 18, pp. 681f. 3Kiddushin 30b,
p. 526.
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The Lord God took the man [Adam] and put him in the Garden of
Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man,
saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that
you eat of it you shall die."
Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be
alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." So out of the ground the
Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and
brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the
man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names
to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the
field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him. So the
Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept
took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib
which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and
brought her to the man. Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my
bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man." Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and
cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his
wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.
Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that
the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall
not eat of any tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent,
"We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, 'You
shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the
garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But the serpent
said to the woman, "You will not die. For God knows that when you eat
of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good
and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and
that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired
to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some
to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they
knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made
themselves aprons.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in
the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the
presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord
God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said,
"I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I
was naked; and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were
naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"
The man said, "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me
fruit of the tree, and I ate." Then the Lord God said to the woman,
"What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent
beguiled me, and I ate." The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you
have done this,
Cursed are you above all cattle,
and above all wild animals;
Upon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel."
To the woman He said,
"I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing,
in pain you shall bring forth children,
Yet your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you."
And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your
wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall
not eat of it,'
cursed is the ground because of you;
in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
you are dust,
and to dust you shall return."
The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of
all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of
skins, and clothed them.
Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of
us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take
also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"--therefore the Lord
God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from
which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the Garden
of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every
way, to guard the way to the tree of life. 1.
Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Genesis 2.15-3.24
It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the
angels, "Bow down to Adam," and they bowed down; not so Iblis, he
refused to be of those who bow down. [God] said, "What prevented you
from bowing down when I commanded you?" He said, "I am better than he;
You created me from fire, and him from clay." God said, "Get down from
this place; it is not for you to be arrogant here; get out, for you are
of the meanest of creatures." He said, "Give me respite till the day
when they are raised up." God said, "Be among those who are to have
respite."
He said, "Because you have thrown me out of the Way, lo! I will
lie in wait for them on Your Straight Way: Then will I assault them
from before them and behind, from their right and their left: nor will
You find, in most of them, gratitude." God said, "Get out from this,
disgraced and expelled. If any of them follow you, I will fill hell
with all of you.
"And Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in the Garden, and enjoy its
good things as you wish, but approach not this tree, or you will run
into harm and transgression."
Then Satan began to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly
before their minds all their shame that was previously unnoticed by
them. He said, "Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest you should
become angels or such beings as live forever." And he swore to them
both, that he was their sincere advisor. So by deceit he brought about
their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their shame [private parts]
became apparent to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of
the Garden over their bodies.
And their Lord called unto them: "Did I not forbid you that tree,
and tell you that Satan was an avowed enemy unto you both?" They said:
"Our Lord! we have wronged our own souls. If You do not forgive us and
do not grant us Your mercy, we shall certainly be lost." God said, "Get
you down, with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your
dwelling place and your means of livelihood--for a time. Therein shall
you live, and therein you shall die; but from it shall you be brought
forth at last."
O Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover
your shame, as well as to be an adornment to you. But the raiment of
righteousness--that is the best. Such are among the signs of God, that
they may receive admonition.
O Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you in the same manner
as he got your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their
clothing in order to expose their private parts. He and his tribe watch
you from where you cannot see them! We have made the devils friends
only to those without faith. 2.
Islam. Qur'an 7.11-27
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Genesis 2.15-3.24: Cf. Luke 10.19-20, pp. 314f.; Qur'an 2.30-33, p. 313.
On the primitive harmony of paradise, cf. Chuang Tzu 9, p. 320.
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God created man incorruptible, and made him in the image of his own
nature, but through the devil's envy, death came into the world.
3.
Christianity. Bible, Wisdom of Solomon 2.23-24
Rabbi Aha said, "God deliberated how to create man. He said to Himself,
'If I create him like the angels, he will be immortal. If I create him
like the beasts, he will be mortal.' God decided to leave man's conduct
to his own free choice, and if he had not sinned, he would have been
immortal."
4.
Judaism. Midrash, Genesis Rabbah 8.11
Rabbi Abba said, "If Adam had not sinned, he would not have begotten
children from the side of the evil inclination, but he would have borne
offspring from the side of the holy spirit. But now, since all the
children of men are born from the side of the evil inclination, they
have no permanence and are but short-lived, because there is in them an
element of the 'other side.' But if Adam had not sinned and had not
been driven from the Garden of Eden, he would have begotten progeny from
the side of the holy spirit--a progeny holy as the celestial angels, who
would have endured for eternity, after the supernal pattern."
5.
Judaism. Zohar 61a
What was the wicked serpent contemplating at that time? He thought, "I
shall go and kill Adam and wed his wife, and I shall be king over the
whole world."
6.
Judaism. Talmud, Abot de Rabbi Nathan 1
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Qur'an 7.11-27: Cf. Qur'an 17.61-64, p. 440. In the last verses, the
Qur'an relates Satan's deed in the Garden to the pagan orgies of
Muhammad's day. It also compares this primordial purpose of clothing
with the better way to protect one's purity, by modesty born of
submission to God. Wisdom of Solomon 2.23-24: The fall brought death
into the world, meaning spiritual death and loss of our original
relationship to God; cf. 1 Corinthians 15.21-22, p. 547; Romans 6.23, p.
580; cf. Berakot 18ab, p. 583; Genesis Rabbah 10.4, p. 1113. Genesis
Rabbah 8.11: The prevailing Jewish conception of the Fall regards Adam
as typical of all human beings. Like Adam, we all sin; we all fall. We
are not condemned for an original sin; we all have the choice of death
or eternal life placed before us--cf. Ezekiel 18, pp. 681f. If this
passage is interpreted as referring specifically to Adam, it is
affirming that God treated Adam as responsible and free to choose,
contrary to certain views which regard the fall as an ascent from
innocence to responsibility, to 'knowledge of good and evil'--compare
Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2.19-26, below. Zohar 61a: This passage speaks
of an 'original sin,' as the fall is regarded as the source of the Evil
Inclination which is inherited by all humankind; see also Shabbat
145b-146a, p. 547. On the other hand, in Kiddushin 30b, p. 526 there is
the opinion that the Evil Inclination was created by God.
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Rabbi Joshua ben Qarhah said, "Why does the scripture not place the
verse 'And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin'
(Genesis 3.21) immediately after 'And they were both naked, and were not
ashamed' (Genesis 2.25)? It teaches you through what sin that wicked
creature inveighed them: Because [the serpent] saw them engaged in
their natural relations, he conceived a lust for her."
7.
Judaism. Midrash, Genesis Rabbah 18.6
After Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit they were
driven out of the Garden of Eden, to till the earth.
And they have brought forth children; yea, even the family of all
the earth.
And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to
the will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh; wherefore,
their state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened,
according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children
of men. For He gave commandment that all men must repent; for He showed
unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of their
parents.
And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have
fallen, but he would have remained in the Garden of Eden. And all
things which were created must have remained in the same state in which
they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever,
and had no end.
And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have
remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no
misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.
But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of Him who
knows all things.
Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have
joy.
And the Messiah comes in the fulness of time, that he may redeem
the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed
from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to
act for themselves and not to be acted upon. 8.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Book of Mormon,
2 Nephi 2.19-26
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Genesis Rabbah 18.6: In the dominant Jewish tradition Adam and Eve
enjoyed married life prior to the fall. In the Christian tradition, on
the other hand, they are usually depicted as living chaste while in the
Garden. Illustrating the latter point of view we give the following
passages from the Book of Mormon and Divine Principle. On the devil's
lust, cf. Shabbat 145b-146, p. 547. For another Jewish interpretation
of the forbidden fruit, see Sanhedrin 70ab, p. 499. Book of Mormon, 2
Nephi 2.19-26: The scriptures of the Latter-day Saints give positive
value to the human fall, agreeing with a minority tradition in
Christianity that views the fall as a 'happy fault' [felix culpa]. The
fall was necessary both for procreation and for the exercise of moral
agency--to know the joy of ethical living. In addition, without the
fall humankind could not know the grace of redemption in Christ. For
these reasons, the fall is considered to have been within the plan of
God; compare Hadith of Muslim, p. 523. The contrary Jewish
position--that unfallen humans were created endowed with moral agency,
is given above in Genesis Rabbah 8.11.
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All things were created to receive God's dominion through love.
Therefore, love is the source of life and the essence of happiness; love
is the ideal of all creation. Accordingly, the more one receives God's
love, the more beautiful he or she becomes. So it was very natural that
Eve looked most beautiful in Lucifer's eyes. Moreover, when [immature]
Eve was susceptible to his temptation, Lucifer was strongly stimulated
by an impulse of love toward Eve. At this point, Lucifer dared to
seduce Eve at the risk of his life. Lucifer, who left his position due
to excessive desire, and Eve, who desired to have her eyes opened like
God's through a sexual relationship before she was ready for it, thus
formed a reciprocal base, and had sexual intercourse with each other.
The power of love derived from their give and take action was not based
on the principle, and they fell into an illicit relationship of
spiritual love.
Eve received certain elements from Lucifer when she joined in one
body with him through love. First, she received from Lucifer the sense
of fear, which came from his guilty conscience because of their
violation of the purpose of creation. Second, she received wisdom
enabling her to perceive that her intended spouse in the original nature
of creation was not Lucifer but Adam.... Eve then seduced Adam in the
hope that she might rid herself of the fear derived from the fall and
stand before God by becoming, even then, one body with Adam, who was
meant to be her spouse.
Adam and Eve were meant to have become husband and wife,
eternally centered on God, after their perfection. However, at that
time Eve was still in the period of immaturity. Eve joined with Adam
after she had the illicit relationship with the archangel and while
Adam, too, was in his period of immaturity. The premature conjugal
relationship thus established between Adam and Eve was centered on Satan
and caused the physical fall.
Eve, having become one body with the archangel through their
illicit sexual relationship, was in the position of the archangel to
Adam. Therefore Adam, whom God loved, looked very beautiful to her.
Adam was Eve's only hope of returning to God. Feeling this, Eve tempted
Adam, just as the archangel had tempted her. Adam and Eve formed a
reciprocal base, and through their give and take action, the power of
love drew them closer. This powerful love made Adam leave his original
position and finally caused Eve and him to have an illicit sexual
relationship.
Adam, by becoming one body with Eve, inherited all the elements
Eve had received from Lucifer, in the same manner she did. These
elements were then transmitted to their descendants... and mankind has
multiplied sin to the present day, thus perpetuating the lineage of
Satan. 9.
Unification Church. Divine Principle I.2.2.2
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Divine Principle I.2.2.2: The fall is here regarded as a corruption of
human love. Love is meant to be the most glorious and fulfilling
emotion, expressing at the same time intimacy with God, but love was
misused and degraded. The fall was consummated when Adam and Eve had
their first sexual relationship, at the instigation of Satan, and
expressing an evil motivation. Since then, human love has been infected
with self-centered elements. On the premise that the world would have
been completed through the God-centered love of perfected Adam and Eve,
married under God's blessing, see Divine Principle I.1.2.3.4, p. 253;
cf. Sun Myung Moon, 10-20-73, p. 467; 3-30-90, p. 1091; 8-20-89, p. 577.
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You must know, monks, that after the floods [that put out the
conflagration that ended the last cosmic cycle] receded and the earth
came back into being, there was upon the face of the earth a film more
sweet-smelling than ambrosia. Do you want to know what was the taste of
that film? It was like the taste of grape wine in the mouth. And at
this time the gods of the Abhasvara Heaven said to one another, "Let us
go and see what it looks like in Jambudvipa now that there is earth
again." So the young gods of that heaven came down into the world and
saw that over the earth was spread this film. They put their fingers
into the earth and sucked them. Some put their fingers into the earth
many times and ate a great deal of this film, and these at once lost all
their majesty and brightness. Their bodies grew heavy and their
substance became flesh and bone. They lost their magic and could no
longer fly. But there were others who ate only a little, and these
could still fly about in the air. And those that had lost their magic
cried out to one another in dismay, "Now we are in a very sad case. We
have lost our magic. There is nothing for it but to stay here on earth;
for we cannot possibly get back to heaven." They stayed and fed upon
the film that covered the earth, and gazed at one another's beauty.
Those among them that were most passionate became women, and these gods
and goddesses fulfilled their desires and pleasure in one another. And
this was how it was, monks, that when the world began love-making first
spread throughout the world; it is an old and constant thing. And that
woman should appear in the world, this too is an old thing, and not only
a matter of today.
And the gods who had returned to heaven looked down and saw the
young gods that had fallen, and they came down and reproached them,
saying, "Why are you behaving in this unclean way?" Then the gods on
earth thought to themselves, "We must find some way to be together
without being seen by others." So they made houses that would cover and
hide them. Monks, that was how houses first began.
[Now the people] seeing this thing of husbands and wives had
begun, hated and despised such couples and seized them with the left
hand, pushed them with the right hand and drove them away. But always
after two months or maybe three they would come back again. Then the
people hit them or pelted them with sticks, clods of earth, tiles or
stones. "Go and hide yourselves! Go and hide yourselves properly!"
That is why today when a girl is married she is pelted with flowers or
gold or silver or pieces of clothing or rice, and the people as they
pelt her say, "May peace and happiness, new bride, be yours!" Monks, in
former times ill was meant by these things that were done, but nowadays
good is meant. 10.
Buddhism. Ekottara Agama 34 and Ch'i-shih Ching
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Ekottara Agama 34 and Ch'i-shih Ching: These are both texts from the
Chinese Tripitaka. The Ekkotara Agama is the Chinese translation of
portions of the Anguttara Nikaya of the Pali scriptures. In the case of
this text, however, the parallel Pali version is found not in the
Anguttara Nikaya, but in Digha Nikaya iii.27, the Aggana Suttanta. See
Dialogues of the Buddha, III, 82-85.
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The deities Izanagi and Izanami descended from Heaven to the
island Ono-goro and erected a heavenly pillar and a spacious palace.
At this time Izanagi asked his wife Izanami, "How is your body
formed?" She replied, "My body, though it be formed, has one place which
is formed insufficiently." Then Izanagi said, "My body, though it be
formed, has one place which is formed to excess. Therefore, I would
like to take that place in my body which is formed to excess and insert
it into that place in your body which is formed insufficiently, and thus
give birth to the land. How would this be?" "That will be good," said
Izanami. "Then let us, you and me, walk in a circle around this
heavenly pillar and meet and have conjugal intercourse," said Izanagi.
"You walk around from the right, and I will walk around from the left
and meet you."
After having agreed to this, they circled around; then Izanami
said first, "How delightful! I have met a lovely lad!" Afterwards,
Izanagi said, "How delightful! I have met a lovely maiden!" After each
had spoken, Izanagi said to his wife, "It was not proper that the woman
should speak first." Nevertheless, they commenced procreation and gave
birth to a leech-child. They placed this child into a boat made of
reeds and floated it away.
Then the two deities consulted together, "The child which we have
just borne is not good. It is best to report this before the heavenly
gods." So they ascended together and sought the will of the heavenly
gods. The gods thereupon performed a grand divination, and said,
"Because the woman spoke first, the child was not good. Descend once
more and say it again."
Then they descended again and walked once more in a circle around
the heavenly pillar as before. "How delightful! I have met a lovely
maiden!" "How delightful! I have met a lovely lad!" Thus they united
and gave birth to children, [the eight islands of Japan]. 11.
Shinto. Kojiki 4.1-6.1
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Kojiki 4-6: The deities Izanagi and Izanami represent the union of
opposites, yang and yin, which is the source of all life divine and
human--cf. I Ching, Great Commentary 1.1.i-iv, p. 178. However, these
deities at first erred in the ritual of conjugal intercourse by which they
were to create the land and all things. Their mistake was in allowing the
woman to take initiative--a parallel to Eve's haste to eat the fruit in
the Genesis story. The 'leech-child' (piru-go) was a monstrosity who was
allowed to die of exposure. Izanami, too, would eventually die in
childbirth (Kojiki 7.22); compare the curses in Genesis 3.3 and 3.16.
The Japanese philosopher Nishida regards this myth as the Shinto version
of Original Sin. According to Nishida, as Izanagi and Izanami were
brother and sister, everything in the universe originated from an
incestuous marriage. The procession around the heavenly pillar was a
ritual designed to overcome the incest taboo, but the error in carrying
out this ritual nullified its effect. Hence all humanity is the result
of incest. The death of Izanami, the symbolic death of their daughter
Amaterasu-omi-kami (Kojiki 15) and the expulsion of their son Susanoo
(Kojiki 17.25) were punishments endured by the Shinto gods to atone for
this original mistake.
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The Creator, Fidi Mukullu, made all things including man. He also
planted banana trees. When the bananas were ripe He sent the sun to
harvest them. The sun brought back a full basket to Fidi Mukullu, who
asked him if he had eaten any. The sun answered "no," and the Creator
decided to put him to a test. He made the sun go down into a hole dug
in the earth, then asked him when he wanted to get out. "Tomorrow
morning, early," answered the sun. "If you did not lie," the Creator
told him, "you will get out early tomorrow morning." The next day the
sun appeared at the desired moment, confirming his honesty. Next the
moon was ordered to gather God's bananas and was put to the same test.
She also got out successfully. Then came man's turn to perform the same
task. However, on his way to the Creator he ate a portion of the
bananas, but denied doing so. Put to the same test as the sun and the
moon, man said that he wanted to leave the hole at the end of five days.
But he never got out. Fidi Mukullu said, "Man lied. That is why man
will die and will never reappear."
12.
African Traditional Religions. BaSonge tradition (Zaire)
In the beginning God was very close to man, for the sky then lay just
above the earth. There was no death, sickness, sorrow, or hunger, and
men were content with one grain of millet a day granted them by God.
One day, a greedy woman, who wanted to pound more than the one grain
permitted, used a long-handled pestle and struck the sky. This angered
God, who withdrew with the sky to its present position far above the
earth. Since then the country has become spoiled, and men are now
subject to death, sickness, hunger, and disease.
13.
African Traditional Religions. Dinka tradition (Sudan)
In the olden days, when God still lived among men, Death did not live
among men. Whenever he happened to stray onto the earth, God (Imana)
would chase it away with his hunting dogs. One day during such a chase,
Death was forced into a narrow space and would have been caught and
destroyed. But in his straits he found a woman, and promised her that
if she hid him he would spare her and her family. The woman opened her
mouth and Death jumped inside. When God came to her and asked her if
she had seen Death, she denied ever seeing him. But God, the All-Seeing
One, knew what happened, and told the woman that since she had hidden
Death, in the future Death would destroy her and all her children. From
that moment death spread all over the world.
14.
African Traditional Religions. Urundi tradition (Burundi)
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Dinka tradition: Many African myths explain how in primordial times God
withdrew far from the human realm. Variations on this particular
version of the myth of God's withdrawal are found in the traditions of
many African peoples. Cf. Dinka song, p. 459; Fang tradition, p. 410.
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Formerly, all creatures were virtuous, and by themselves they obtained
divinity. Therefore the gods became worried, so Brahma created women in
order to delude men. Then women, who had been virtuous, became wicked
witches, and Brahma filled them with wanton desires, which they in turn
inspired in men. He created anger, and henceforth all creatures were
born in the power of desire and anger.
15.
Hinduism. Mahabharata 13.40.5-12
Formerly Prajapati brought forth pure creatures, who were truthful and
virtuous. These creatures joined the gods in the sky whenever they
wished, and they lived and died by their own wish. In another time,
those who dwelt on earth were overcome by desire and anger, and they
were abandoned by the gods. Then by their foul deeds these evil ones
were trapped in the chain of rebirth, and they became atheists.
16.
Hinduism. Mahabharata 3.181.11-20
In the Krita [golden age], Dharma is four-footed and entire, and
so is Truth; nor does any gain accrue to men by unrighteousness.
In the other three ages, by reason of unjust gains, Dharma is
deprived successively of one foot, and through the prevalence of theft,
falsehood, and fraud the merit gained by men is diminished by one-fourth
in each.
Men are free from disease, accomplish all their aims, and live
four hundred years in the Krita age, but in the Treta [silver age] and
in each of the succeeding ages their life is lessened by one quarter.
The life-[span] of mortals... the desired results of sacrificial
rites and the supernatural power of embodied spirits are fruits
apportioned among men according to the character of the age.
One set of duties is prescribed for men in the Krita age,
different ones in the Treta and in the Dvapara, and again another set in
the Kali [the present age], in proportion as those ages decrease in
length.
In the Krita age the chief virtue is declared to be the
performance of austerities, in the Treta divine knowledge, in the
Dvapara the performance of sacrifices, and in the Kali liberality alone. 17.
Hinduism. Laws of Manu 1.81-86
When the Tao was lost, there was virtue;
When virtue was lost, there was benevolence;
When benevolence was lost, there was rectitude;
When rectitude was lost, there were rules of propriety.
Propriety is a wearing thin of loyalty and good faith,
And the beginning of disorder.
18.
Taoism. Tao Te Ching 38
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Mahabharata 13.40.5-12: In this and similar Hindu traditions, the motive
for the human fall lies with the gods, who grew jealous of people and
desired to keep them out of heaven. This compares with the jealousy of
the angels in the Qur'anic and biblical accounts of the fall.
Mahabharata 3.181.11-20: Philosophical Hinduism explains evil by the
doctrines of karma and reincarnation, but logically, karma itself must
have an origin. This passage allows how, though the Creator be good,
the chain of evil karma could begin. Laws of Manu 1.81-86: This is the
Hindu doctrine of the Four Ages (Yugas), which together make up a
complete world-cycle. We now live in the Kali Age, which is said to
have begun with the death of Krishna shortly after the Mahabharata war
(1500-1000 b.c.e.). Cf. Vishnu Purana 4.24, pp. 1092, 1106f; Linga
Purana 1.40.72-83, p. 1115; Bhagavad Gita 8.17-21, p. 122. Tao Te Ching
38: On the harmony of the golden age of the 'Great Tao,' or 'Grand
Unity,' cf. Book of Ritual 7.1.2, p. 293; Tao Te Ching 18-19, p. 294;
Chuang Tzu 9, p. 320.
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